Guilty of Romance

Whenever you find a film that is based on actual events or someone's life, with the exclusion of biopics, I highly recommend giving it your time. It's similar to the interest piqued from a movie based on a book you find yourself drawn to, but much more involving. This is perhaps due to - and heightened by - the interest from the director. To consider that there is someone's story out there that captivates a filmmaker to the point that they are willing to spend thousands, if not millions, of dollars funding a work that will tell this story the way they imagine it in their mind after (hopefully) researching the events leading to it is, in all seriousness, a wonderful thing. Of course, the director needs to be someone you trust to tell this story—and what better example than Shion Sono and the grizzly tale of a woman on the brink of sexual discovery in a repressed society that can and will eat the faint at heart for breakfast.

Opening with “On the eve of the 21st century...,” Guilty of Romance takes off at a hurried run as a detective (Miki Mitzuno) stumbles upon a bizarre crime that would rattle even the most experienced among her profession. The remains of a woman are found in various locations known for being the playground of anyone keen on prancing through the erotic underworld. The fact that a murder took place there isn't necessarily jarring. The fact that the remains were partial and attached to a mannequin dressed like a schoolgirl was.